In Berkeley, Calif., Mayor Tom Bates wants to ban sitting on sidewalks, according to the Contra Costa Times. “It’s just not civil,” Bates told the newspaper. “I walk home every day and back and forth to the office and people have stopped me and said, ‘Can’t you do something about this?’ I figured this is a controversial issue and something that should be decided by the voters.”
Berkeley, the home of the University of California, Berkeley, has the reputation as one of the most liberal jurisdictions in the nation. Yet during his tenure as mayor, Bates has written an ordinance that was approved by the City Council that prohibits lying on the sidewalks from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. That law was part of a larger package of laws dealing with problematic street behavior.
“With the current law you go and ask them to get up and move and they just sit up, so this would close that little loophole,” Bates said.
The City Council of Berkeley will have a chance to vote on the proposed measure on June 12.
Sitting bans have already been implemented in a few other West Coast cities, like San Francisco. In San Francisco, people resting on public sidewalks between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. run the risk of a $100 ticket. In Berkeley, Bates supports a $50 fine for resting on his city’s sidewalks.
